Veterinarians and horsemen on the lookout for pigeon fever
Agriculture officials in Louisiana are warning veterinarians and horse owners of a possible outbreak of pigeon fever due to the drought conditions.
The disease attacks horses and causes large abscesses in the chest and abdomen giving a horse a pigeon-breasted look.
Soaring Spirit ranch owner Kathryn Loewer says two of her horses, Oreo and Red, contracted pigeon fever last year. The highly contagious bacterial infection can't be treated with antibiotics. Once an abscess develops it can be drained and the horse will shed the bacteria.
"We wanna not let other horses have access to it, we clean the area, sanitize the area with bleach, ya know, you just do the common sense things."
Cases of pigeon fever seem to spike when conditions are dry. Louisiana usually has fewer than three confirmed cases per year, but that number jumped to 33 during last year's drought and LSU AG Center County Agent Stan Dutile says it could have been as many as 300 cases not reported.
"The bacteria are in the dust, so when it gets really dry, more susceptible to the dust particles wind up on the cut or an open sore on a horse and get infected that way."
For horses like Oreo, pigeon fever is not a death sentence and can be treated, but it can put a horse out of commission for up to three months. Loewer says she hopes more research can be done to possibly find a vaccine.
"The biggest challenge with pigeon fever has been lack of information or not good information."
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